Funko Mega Man: Dr. Wily

Last summer while on vacation at the beach I found myself browsing the clearance section at a GameStop with my older brother when I came across this action figure of Mega Man's arch nemesis, Dr. Wily. It had been marked down several times and at $3.97 I couldn't leave it behind. I thought if nothing else I could find a home for him on my video game shelves in my game room.

I don't recall seeing this series of figures before, but being that they were made by Funko I'm sure these weren't at regular retail stores like Target or Walmart. I liked the look of the sculpt so I took a flyer on him.

The back of the packaging shows the line also included three different versions of Mega Man. Neither of these were available when I picked up Dr. Wily.

The figure stands at about 4 inches tall if memory serves me correct. The sculpt is dead on and looks fantastic. While the range of motion is limited, the head is on a ball joint and does allow movement up and down and side to side. Arms are articulated at the shoulder and elbow. Legs are articulated at the hips and knees. To be honest this is more articulated than I would have imagined.

If you're a fan of video game themed toys or just a big Mega Man fan, I think you would be satisfied with this series of Funko figures. I haven't had the best luck with Funko action figures, but this one is solid and well made.

Marvel Battle World: Mystery of the Thanostones (Battle Ball)

While traveling for work last week I stopped in the Target down the road from my hotel to grab a snack after dinner. Of course I checked out both the trading card and toy section. On one of the end caps was this huge Marvel display for their new game, Battle World: Mystery of the Thanostones. I was surprised to see it was made by Funko and not a company like Hasbro. My older brother had told me about these earlier, but this was the first time I had seen them in person.

The top shelf of the display housed three gravity feeder type displays fill of Battle Balls. These retailed for $9.99, but were on sale at the time for $8.99. The bottom shelf had larger packs that retailed for $24.99. 

The display really catches your attention 1) for the sheer size and 2) the artwork used for the characters. In the center was a little display showcasing 6 of the actual figures that are used in the game. Each side of this figure display where images of the other characters available in this initial wave.

While some of the choices for characters is a little puzzling, I was surprised at just how detailed these figures are. They are only about an inch tall so Funko could have mailed it in and just released some crappy painted, non-descript figure. 

After standing there for a moment and looking at the display and the figures, I decided to take a change on the game and grabbed one Battle Ball.

These Battle Balls are made up of hexagon shapes so it's like a large die more than a ball. I noticed the top and bottom of the ball had a recessed section with a peg and a flat groove. The back of the wrapper shows you that contents of the Battle Ball along with an image of a Thanonstone.

Once I got the wrapper off and the ball opened, I found the orange Thanostone, some hexagon shaped cards (one of which was sealed in a black bag), and a small bag with a die and a figure.

The figure included w/ the die was none other than Ant-Man. The figure stands at about 1 inch tall and obviously isn't articulated. The sculpting and paint applications are well done for such a small figure.

In addition to Ant-Man's character card were four other cards. I had to read the included instructions to figure out what these were and how they were used in the game. Essentially each card is a battle playfield.

The Thanostone was interesting. It felt soft and almost like foam, but was hard like plastic. On the front of the stone was an "etched" image on Thanos' himself. I thought that only one figure was included in the Battle Ball, but I was wrong as the Thanostone also included a mystery figure. Once I was able to get it open I found...

Spider-Ham...the Infinity version. This figure is cast in translucent purple plastic to represent the Power Infinity Stone (I think). 

Now I understand why the character card was placed in a opaque black bag so it wouldn't give away the identity of the figure inside the Thanostone.

The instructions on how to set up and play the game are pretty straight forward. I'm not the biggest fan of board games or table top games, but this one looks interesting. I might be able to get my family to play, but that means we'll need to pick up another Battle Ball or two. Remember, you can click on the images to enlarge them.

When you're not playing the game you can use the two halves of the Battle Ball to display both the figure and their character cards. This is a nice addition as some may want to collect the figures and not play the game and this gives them a way to show off their collection.

What are your thoughts? Have you seen the display at your local Target store? Have you purchased one out of curiosity such as I? Have you played the game? I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions on both the figures as well as the game.

McKay's - A little bit of everything

Several weeks ago now (because I've been sitting on these pictures!) I stopped by McKay's in Greensboro, NC while traveling for work. It had been almost exactly a year to the date since the last time I visited this store so I was eager to get back. If you're not familiar with McKay's, it's a chain of stores that buys/sales a lot of different things including: books, movies, music, video games, comic books and more. You never know what you'll find when you go in. Most of the time you can find some good deals, but just like anything "collectible" there are times where the asking price is higher than you'd like to see. Regardless, I walked out with two boxes of goodies on my last trip and this post will share them with all two readers of the blog!

McKay's doesn't bag your purchases, so I bragged two empty boxes by the door to make it easier to haul my loot home.

It's not that often that I buy a Pop! figure, but ever since I grabbed the Peggy Carter Pop! figure a year or so ago, I wanted her niece. I looked for her at the Heroes Convention in Charlotte, NC this past June, but didn't see her oddly enough. I flashed a quick look at the wall of Pops! while at McKay's and wouldn't you know I found Agent 13...for $5 none the less too.

I browsed all of the various video game platforms, but didn't really find anything that stood out. Then I turned my attention to the discount shelf near the comic books and bingo! I found NES Play Action Football for super cheap. A lot of times old NES games marked this cheap have dogged labels, but this cartridge looked brand new. I'm not a big sports game fan, but I couldn't leave this one behind.

My youngest daughter, Winnie, 8, loves Spongebob. She got some Game Boy Advance games last summer and I told her I'd keep my eyes open for other games. While I can't say I've heard of this game, she was super excited when I got back home and gave her this.

The Lights, Camera, Pants! game is the only one I pulled out of the normal section. The rest of the games, including this complete, $.95 Creature from the Krusty Krab GameCube game came from the discount shelve. The first game is a 4 player co-op game that I thought would be fun for the whole family. The other is the console version of a GBA game she already had.

I mentioned the discount game shelve was near the comics and that was my next destination inside the store to check. The organization of the books left a lot to be desired, but I'd find little runs of a title here and there. One I was glad to find was the post-Legacy run of Daredevil. Partially thanks to the Netflix show and the Legacy promotion Marvel was running, I started buying Daredevil. I heard the creative team on the book was doing an exceptional job too. Artist Phil Noto transitioned to the book around this time. These 5 issues filled in the gaps I had so I was thrilled to find these. Priced at $.75 an issue too.

I purposefully left the price tags on the bags so you could see the deals I got. The Sentinel of Liberty series didn't run that long and issues are getting tougher to find. The Alice Cooper was a surprise for sure. Once I got back to my hotel room I was surprised again as when I pulled the book out of the bag/board one of the rear corners was creased. Bummer.

Marvel is doing something with the 2099 universe again soon so I've been picking up any 2099 book I can find. I already had two of the four issues of Timestorm so I was floored to find the other issues I needed. Plus who can pass up $.25 comics?!

After browsing much of the store my feet and back were starting to hurt and I was hungry. Before I left though I lightly browsed the music area, particularly the cheap CDs. Glad I did...

I was a fan of The Classic Crime since their first album was released on Tooth & Nail Records, however I thought once they left the label the band was done. Turns out this album, Phoenix, was Kickstarter funded! I also found a CD by a band called Undercover that I didn't know existed.

The last two items I purchased that night before heading across the street to Kickback Jack's for dinner was Bride's "Live to Die" and 10,000 Maniac's "Our Team in Eden". The Bride album is a classic metal album featuring the classic song "Hell No"...well at least classic in my circle of music. I was also shocked to see that this was the original Pure Metal Records release...nice!!

I didn't listen to much mainstream music in high school, but I remember this album and I always enjoyed Natalie Merchant's vocals. I thought for a quarter now would be a good time to give this album a listen.

I love going to McKay's as I always find something exciting and interesting. If you are a fan of physical media (as I) then you have to stop by McKay's if you're ever near one of their locations. I also recently found out they are building a larger store in near by Winston-Salem, NC. By the time I have to go back to this area for work it should be open so you can bet I'll be checking it out.

The Walking Dead: Mystery Minis

Blind packaged toys and vinyl figures I'd argue are at the height of their popularity.  Funko has decided to cash in on both this popularity and their Walking Dead license by releasing a series of vinyl figures.  I've seen these at the local comic shop for $9 a piece, but thankfully they can be found in the trading card aisle at your local Target for only $5.99.

  

These figures are done in a very stylistic way and judging from the art I was very intrigued to see what the actual figure looked like.  Series 1 contains16 possible figures.  Of course there are variations to be found such as blood splattered figures.  There are numbers beside each figure shown on the back of the box, but I'm unsure what these numbers represent.  Are they odds for each particular character?

  

More great artwork can be found on each side of the box.  Being based on the AMC television show as opposed to the comic, you can see a few characters from the first 2 seasons of the show.

  

Score!  Merle Dixon...and the blood splattered version at that!  Now while I'm a huge fan of the AMC show, I never cared for the character of Merle.  However like many viewers, I was touched by his change of attitude towards the end of season 3.

These vinyl figures are nicely done by Funko.  They don't feature any articulation unlike the Disney Vinylmation toys I recently looked at, but that doesn't hinder the figure at all.  While only standing roughly 2 inches tall, these little figures pack a lot more detail than I thought they would.  The paint apps are very nicely done, something that you don't always expect with a toy such as this.

I'm not sure if I'll pick up any more of these, but I do have to say I'm very impressed with Funko's effort here.  For the time being, Merle will be accompanying me at work on my desk, watching my back for any zombies strolling around the office.